


The Trial of the Vindicated

by Coelpts



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Henry's Escape Team didn't stop looking for him, Post-Betrayal, Revenged Ending | R (Henry Stickmin), Yknow how they be, toppat clan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26173063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coelpts/pseuds/Coelpts
Summary: The story is as such:Henry Stickmin, Chief of the Toppat Clan, had been imprisoned in a high-security prison complex known only as The Wall. After a call for help was issued to Chief Stickmin's deputy Reginald Copperbottom, the second in command had staged a breakout with the assistance of the Airship Division to rescue their leader. During the escape Chief Stickmin used an old motorized scooter to attempt to jump the gap between the facility and the Airship. However, Mr. Copperbottom was unable to grab the Chief as the scooter could not make the distance, leading him to fall to his death.Is that really the truth?
Comments: 22
Kudos: 117





	1. The Testimony

**Author's Note:**

> This is another one of those fics where I had exactly One Sentence wriggle its way into my brain and demand tribute. So, expect that to happen.
> 
> Special shout out goes to the Discord Simphat Clan chat, where this whole shindig got started. Thanks folks!

"You are leader of Toppat Clan, да?...Most went South, ten hours ago."

Henry narrowed his eyes at the phrasing. _Most?_ There wasn't much of a way to split an airship in half without disabling it entirely, so something had to have happened for some of the crew to split off. 

The doctor could clearly see the gears turning in his head. "I have had run-in with your clan before, but this is first time we met," She continued, crossing her arms. "Some of your lackeys came to me one, two months ago. You do not remember this?"

Henry looked back down at his new mechanical left arm and shook his head. He hadn't signed off on any Toppat robotics projects as far as he remembered, and definitely no cybernetics like this. The Toppatbot wasn't even _theirs_ to begin with. Theoretically, he should be the first cyborg Toppat.

Apparently not.

"May have come without your knowing, then. You _may_ want to have discussion with red hair and curly mustache," She remarked, turning to the door of the operations room. "For now, you have visitors."

His eyebrows shot up. Visitors? Who? The only person he would think to visit would have been Reginald, his deputy, but. Well, _that_ had all gone sour in a special kind of way. The doctor cracked open the door and slipped out, and Henry could just barely hear the sound of chatter outside before it busted back open.

Some four other Toppat agents filed into the room, a chorus of voices coming into focus. Henry strained his eyes to try and make out a few more faces- unfortunately, they were not part of his cybernetic upgrades. At the very least, he can recognize one or two distinct shapes of people and their hats.

"Chief Stickmin! We thought you died!" Geoffrey Plumb grinned, patting one hand to the mans shoulder before flinching back at the cold metal his hand had touched. Henry couldn't exactly blame him, it would...it would take a bit to get used to.

The abnormally large-headed man gestured over to a set of blurry shapes in the room that looked like people and sounded like Toppats, so Henry took an _educated guess_ that they were his agents. "Sherman and Wilhelm here were with Ahnoldt when we tried to break you out. Heard you used that old scooter of yours to try and bridge the gap, but Reg said you weren't able to make it," His grin twisted into a frown as he spoke. "That didn't sound right to me, so I grabbed 'em for a second rescue."

Henry squinted at the three blurry shapes in the corner before Geoffrey picked up the hint and commented, "And Matthew came too."

 _Right,_ the kid that joined with nothing better to do. Well, glad that rescuing the leader was on his priorities list.

"We took one of the boat pods and headed north and watched that doctor fish you out of the water, and then waited for her to finish her operation. And here we are," the younger lad said nervously. "So, uh...what, happened?"

Oh, boy. What happened? What _happened?_ Where could he begin?

Henry took a breath, eyes flickering between the four members in the room, and began to tell his story.

* * *

Reginald would _never_ say this in polite company, but it was a relief to formally take his place at the airship controls again. He couldn't have created a better capstone to the story of Henry the Usurper if he tried.

"Our destination is the Dogobogo Jungle," he advised, "for the continuation of the Orbital Station project. You remember the plans we made for it, don't you?"

The man to his right huffed in acknowledgement. "Thought it would _never_ get off the ground, much less into space. How'd you pull it off, Reg?" he comments, refusing to take his eye off the windshield.

_Hm._

Well, the true answer to that question is that Henry took a shine to the idea of being completely free of any government influence and was considering putting his stamp of approval on the project before he went missing. Since his absence meant decision-making power was deferred to his second in command, Reginald had given the rocket the go-ahead and used some _recently acquired_ assets to fund construction. His Right Hand Man wouldn't be privy to this- he had only recovered from his operation about a week and a half ago.

And, Reginald had been. Slow, to tell him what had happened since he was last active. He couldn't _exactly_ predict what he would have done if told that the man that violently maimed him had claimed top spot in the Toppat Clan due to a willful surrender, but it wouldn't have been pretty.

"After your incapacitation, we realized that the governments of the world were going to try and take us down again," he fudged, naming no names of importance. "It was only natural this was the next project we focus on, to ensure future operations."

His Right Hand hummed in understanding. _Good._ That's all he needed to know about this story for now. So that's all he said, piloting the Airship ever further south.

Elsewhere on the ship, a recall pod docking bay readies itself to accept a boat pod.


	2. The Witness

Boat pod No. 3 skips across the water moving south, far from the landing site of the Toppat Chief and ever closer to the Dogobogo Jungle- reportedly, where the airship was headed. The mood of the boat was more than a little grim, but the betrayal of Henry's former right hand wasn't about to stop Geoffrey from giving the boss a rundown.

"Since you went missing, Mr. Copperbottom has been running the clan for you. Second in command, and all," he waives his pipe in the air for effect. Henry nods; that much he could gather, and under just about any other circumstance he'd be thankful.

Too bad it had to be _this_.

Mr. Plumb scratches his large head before continuing, "Now that would be fine and all, but something real... _strange_ , happened. Do you remember his old Right Hand Man?"

Oh, he was _more_ than familiar with the old deputy. They fought in a surprise encounter he couldn't avoid, and his higher initiative let him take the first move. It was unfortunate what had to happen, but at the time he was still working under the Government, so-

"Yeah, he's back now."

That sentence stops Henry's thoughts dead. He even thinks he feels his cybernetic spine lock up for a moment. "Apparently," Mr. Plumb continues, not noticing the confused distress on his Chief's face, "he was _still alive_ after your bout of fisticuffs. Kept it a secret from everybody. Including you, I guess."

They were in this airspace a few months back. Just after Henry took control, Reginald claimed 'family matters' and had him fly north. It made sense at the time, they were already going that way fleeing from the government, so might as well drop him off for whatever he was doing. That son of a gun.

"Dunno how long he was back on board, but he only came back on the bridge...a few days ago, maybe?" Plumb recalled, tapping his pipe against his chin. So he only recently recovered. Made sense, his injuries were pretty bad at the time. It was a proper mauling, and knowing that he was still alive after all that made Henry feel a little bit worse. _Maybe_ in a better time they could reconcile his almost-murder.

...No, probably not actually. Nevermind that thought.

The airship was finally in sight, and Mr. Noibert pulls the controls up to engage the recall. The boat lifts off the ground and goes into autopilot, maneuvering into position for airship landing. Henry would have to come face to face with the man that nearly killed him, and the man he nearly killed. This was going to be a _nasty reunion_ no matter how he cut it.

"What they did to you was unbelievable," Plumb scoffed, eyes somehow becoming even squintier in disapproval. "And worse still, Mr. Copperbottom is lying about the whole thing. He _said_ he tried to catch you but your scooter didn't reach! We've got to catch him in the lie and bring the truth out of him!"

...Hang on.

Maybe he _could_ approach this in a different way. After all, Reginald had lied about his whereabouts...maybe he could turn this to his advantage.

Plumb seems to notice the thoughts rattling around in Henry's skull and adjusts his own hat. "So how do we go about this, boss? What's the plan?"

_What indeed._

Would he force the truth out? Or would he play along with Reginald's act?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell The Truth or Lie?
> 
> Vote now on your phones


End file.
